


downtown compression

by capraluxe



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen, jus a little thing
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-23
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:22:55
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28928007
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/capraluxe/pseuds/capraluxe
Summary: a very short thing that is not related to any other thing i have ever made. i use this as a writing sample for stuff.





	downtown compression

Streetlights make poor substitutes for stars. Jane's had to learn this the slow and hard way, sloshing through rain puddles on her way home from work, under a smog-ridden sky. There is little room for her to weave through this massive crowd, full of tall people heading in all directions and never stopping except at crosswalks. Nothing ever stops in New York; not even Jane, though she'd like to. Work is never done, and nothing ever changes, even if it seems to on the surface. Nobody is going anywhere new, only back and forth between home and work. Home and work, home and work, then home and work again. Seems to be all anyone has room for in a place where simply existing costs exorbitant amounts of money.

Jane thought she'd finally resigned herself to this fact years ago. But as she looks up at the sky, waiting for her turn to cross the street, she finds herself revisiting her old youthful dreams of wealth and fame. She used to want a fancy car, a nice house on the coast, a national following... now she just wants to be able to see the stars again. To have clean and soft carpets. To not have to worry about whether or not she'll be able to make rent... everything. It's all moving, and each step brings everything else closer to the edge. Jane knows she can do something about it. Even if she can't, she has to. 'Find a path or make one,' her father used to tell her, a quote he certainly stole from a linguistics textbook. But there is no time limit on change, and she'll need all the time she can get before she's ready to leave this place.

Jane reaches the other side of the crosswalk without really realizing it. A car honks at her, alerting her to her position just in front of the sidewalk, still slightly in the way of traffic. Bashfully, she gathers herself and returns to her journey home. Still a long way to go before anything changes. Best to keep walking.


End file.
